Interview With Leigh-Allyn Baker of #BadHairDay #McFarlandUSAEvent

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As part of the #McFarlandUSAEvent blog team, I got to do some pretty cool things thanks to Disney. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own!

I’m excited to share with you another post about the fun stuff I did while out in Los Angeles, California! Saturday evening, as part of our #McFarlandUSAEvent, after dinner at delicious Don Cuco (which, by the way, has the best chicken tortilla soup EVER!), we headed to Disney Channel Studios to preview Bad Hair Day and we got to do a Q&A with Leigh-Allyn Baker who stars in the movie and is the executive producer as well. My full review of Bad Hair Day is coming on Friday so check back then for that. Today I’m sharing the fun interview our group got to do with Leigh-Allyn Baker!

Let me first say, Leigh-Allyn is super fun. She had us laughing from the time we met her before the movie, during the movie, and throughout our entire interview. I fel like Leigh-Allyn could be your best friend. She was just that great!

Leigh-Allyn had fun viewing the movie with us:

It was really fun for me to watch it with all of you because I’ve never seen it with an audience. It was really refreshing for me. I sat for six weeks with an editor for this movie and you see it so many times and in the middle of it you think ‘Oh, this is a great movie.’ And then after you’ve seen it a hundred times you’re like ‘Eh, it’s okay.’ So you totally don’t know – you lose perspective. So it was such a fun ride to watch it with you guys and feel your energy and hear you predict different things or get a kick out of things. It was really interesting.

The inspiration behind Bad Hair Day:

There was a script that was taken, as you can see there are many writers on it, taken to Disney Channel. It was quite different from this [version] but it was a teenage girl and a male cop and what I hear from Disney Channel is that they thought if there is an adult that we would try something new, like a film that has an adult in it for the first time. Let’s try it with Leigh-Allyn, see if she’s interested. So that’s when the inspiration started forming on what we wanted to do with this movie and we wanted to first and foremost make people laugh but really, secondly, it was really important to us to grab people’s heartstrings and give a really good, unique, and empowering message. As you can see I feel like this film is fraught with comedy and heart and a great message for girls. You know, she doesn’t end up with her Prince Charming. She chooses MIT. Heck yeah, she does!

I loved that Disney Channel wanted a movie that they could enjoy too. When my daughter is older, I hope there will be more movies made where I can watch them with Riley and enjoy them as well.

BAD HAIR DAY – Disney Channel viewer favorites Laura Marano (“Austin & Ally”) and Leigh-Allyn Baker (“Good Luck Charlie”) star in “Bad Hair Day,” a buddy comedy about a high school tech-whiz whose prom day abruptly shifts into a wild ride across town, thanks to a down-on-her-luck cop and a jewel thief. Leigh-Allyn Baker also executive-produces this Disney Channel Original Movie, premiering FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT). (Disney Channel/Phillippe Bosse)

As far as Leigh-Allyn becoming an executive producer, it was a challenge for herself:

I felt it was very tempting to see if I had it in me to see something built from the ground up and to be brave and be bold to put my vision and not hide behind somebody else’s vision but put my own out there and see how it went. I just wanted to see what other creative elements I could bring to this.

Does Leigh-Allyn want to do more producing?

Honestly, I can’t see one without the other. I really can’t. I mean, I’m not ready to not be acting because as you can see, I have so much fun. I don’t know what happens to me but there’s this other thing that takes over my brain and I’m just having a blast and I just start saying things. Sometimes I think, did that just come out of my mouth? So, I really can’t see one without the other at this point.

Photo Credit: Erica Chao/Mamas Mission

Leigh-Allyn has done producing, acting, and voiceover for video games. We asked her what she likes doing the most:

My favorite was this. To produce, to executive produce and act because you really get to have your hand in all elements.

With a movie title like Bad Hair Day, you may be wondering when Leigh-Allyn Baker has had her worst bad hair day. Don’t worry, we asked that question, too!

When we did the promos for this. They turned me around in the mirror and I was like, huh, irony. Wow. Yeah, that would be it.

Disney Channel’s “Bad Hair Day” stars Leigh-Allyn Baker as Liz and Laura Marano as Monica. (Disney Channel/Bob D’Amico)

What’s next for Leigh-Allyn Baker:

We shall see. I would like to develop my own series, actually. I’m working with another gentleman my age who used to be on the Disney Channel.

As a mother, I know I’ve always wondered how actresses balance work and life. Here’s how Leigh-Allyn does it:

I learned that in season one of Good Luck Charlie. I remember going to work and just missing my baby. I just had Griffin, my oldest, and I remember just missing him terribly all day and then when I got home I was rocking him to sleep at night, my favorite part. And I remember looking at him and I was thinking, Oh, I can’t believe that I missed this at work and I missed that and I should have been focused. And I realized, Oh my gosh, I’m not a hundred percent at work and I’m missing the enjoyment there and I’m not able to be a hundred percent with him here. I’m missing the enjoyment here. From there on, simplicity rules.

Photo Credit: Andrew Kardon/Mommy’s Busy

After the interview, Leigh-Allyn was sweet enough to take individual photos with all 25 of us. I thought that was so great of her. She really is a wonderful person and it was interesting hearing about her experience producing and staring in the movie, as well as hearing how she balances work and being a mom. And, one of the best parts for us bloggers, is that she really understands what we’re doing. Some people just don’t get bloggers, but Leigh-Allyn does. She was wonderful and replied to a lot of our tweets the next day.

Bad Hair Day premieres on the Disney Channel this Friday, February 13th, 2015 at 8pm EST! Don’t miss it! You and your children will love it. And don’t forget to come back Friday, as well, to read my review of the movie!

Follow Bad Hair Day Online:
Website

Follow Leigh-Allyn Baker Online:
Instagram | Twitter

Courtney P.

I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!

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